North korea kim jong il

Flags flew at half-mast in North Korea on Tuesday as the country mourned the death of its leader, Kim Jong Il. North Korean state television broadcast pictures of Kim laid out in an open coffin, with several people, apparently senior officials from Pyongyang's communist regime, lining up to pay their respects. The streets of the North Korean capital were reported to be quiet, but crowds gathered around several Pyongyang landmarks to honor the deceased leader. Official state media reported Monday that Kim Jong Il had died of heart failure on Saturday morning during a train tour. His official age was given as 69. He had led North Korea since coming to power following the death of his father Kim Il Sung in 1994. The 'Great Successor' Kim Jong Il will lie in state at a memorial palace in Pyongyang Shortly after the announcement of Kim's death, the official KCNA news agency declared Kim Jong Il's youngest son, Kim Jong Un, to be the "Great Successor," which has been widely … [Read more...] about North Koreans mourn passing of Kim Jong Il

Kim Jong Il's death is top news in the Chinese media. Most newspapers have employed a neutral tone, but the English-language China Daily was more emotional with its headline: "A friend's departure." The Beijing-based Xinjing Bao had four pages featuring crying North Koreans and reviewing their leader’s life and career, while the party mouthpiece Renmin Ribao, headlined with the condolences of the Chinese Communist Party, mentioned Kim Jong Il's death only later on in the article. Not much about reality Chinese readers will have to look long and hard to find anything about the real situation in North Korea. There is no mention anywhere in the state media that millions of people are starving in the isolated state. Chinese observers also want to know how Kim Jong Un will fare However, commentators have expressed their fears for the future and warned of regional instability. The Hangzhou Ribao, which tends towards nationalism, said China would have to ensure the … [Read more...] about Kim Jong Il’s death dominates Chinese media

The main square of Pyongyang was packed with tens of thousands of mourners who turned out en masse on Wednesday despite heavy snow to pay their last respects to their "Dear Leader." Women wept as they filed past a huge portrait of Kim Jong Il who died of a heart attack on Saturday. An 11-day period of mourning has been declared until he is buried in a state funeral on December 28/29. His son Kim Jong Un, the "Great Successor," is presiding over the proceedings, consolidating his image at home and abroad as the isolated country’s new political face. Collective rule At the same time, however, it would seem a committee is forming around the inexperienced young man that will collectively rule the country, which faces the challenges of a tattered economy and crippling food and energy shortages. Although he does have his supporters, analysts doubt Kim Jong Un is strong enough to consolidate power. An unnamed high-level North Korean source with close ties to Pyongyang … [Read more...] about North Koreans mourn Kim Jong Il, as leadership structure changes

"We are shocked to learn that DPRK top leader comrade Kim Jong-il passed away and we hereby express our deep condolences on his demise and send sincere regards to the DPRK people," Liu Weimin from the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday. He added that he hoped North Koreans would "remain united" and promised to help maintain "peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the region." He said nothing about the designated heir Kim Jong-un, however. Nor did he answer any questions on the matter. What is clear, said Professor Shi Yinhong from the People's University of China in Beijing, is that the Chinese government is worried about instability in the neighboring country. "It is important that there is a smooth transition of power and that stability is maintained." But what is "completely unclear," is the political direction the country will take in future. "Kim Jong-il never dared take the risk of introducing real reforms," he adds. "The country has never really opened up … [Read more...] about China is ‘shocked’ by death of Kim Jong-il

A private delegation from South Korea, which included the widow of former South Korean President Kim Dae Jung, Lee Hee Ho, and Hyundai Group Chairwoman, Hyun Jeong-eun, was welcomed in North Korea on Monday as the group paid their respects to the North's recently deceased leader, Kim Jong Il. Kim Dae Jung held a landmark summit with Kim Jong Il in 2000, and Hyun's husband also had ties to North Korea. "I hope that our trip to North Korea will help improve relations between South and North Korea," Lee said before crossing into North Korea. Kim Jong Un, Kim Jon Il's son and successor, briefly met with the delegation in the capital, Pyongyang. The two women also visited the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, where Kim Jon Il is lying in state. Kim Jong Un has been gaining titles by the day since his father's passing. Over the weekend, Kim was referred to as the military's "supreme leader" by the state media, and a newspaper called him head of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party on … [Read more...] about South Korean delegation pays respects to Kim Jong Il

North Koreans lined the streets of Pyongyang on Wednesday in a public outpouring of grief during a two-day state funeral for their "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il. State television pictures showed serving members of the North Korean military and citizens gathered in their thousands, weeping and expressing their distress at Kim Jong Il's death. He is reported to have died of a heart attack on December 17 after several years of suspected poor health. The 69-year-old Kim Jong Il led North Korea for 17 years after his father Kim Il Sung's died in 1994. A motorcade headed by a black limousine carrying the body, and another with a huge portrait of the leader, drove slowly through the capital. His youngest son and likely successor, Kim Jong Un, walked along side his father’s body outside the Kumsusan Memorial Palace. Test for the "great successor" The state funeral is seen as an opportunity for 28-year-old Kim Jong Un to establish his authority in the country and garner the … [Read more...] about A nervous region watches as North Korea mourns Kim Jong Il

Beijing has been pushing its reclusive and impoverished neighbor to return to six-party talks for months. On Friday, Chinese state media reported that Kim Jong-il had said he was committed to the aim of a nuclear-free Korean peninsula during talks with Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo in northeast China's Heilongjiang province. He had made a similar pledge earlier this week in Russia. "The DPRK adheres to the goal of denuclearization on the Korean peninsula and is ready to fully implement the September 19 joint statement along with all sides," Kim was quoted as saying by Xinhua, referring to a statement signed in 2005, in which North Korea promised to abandon all nuclear weapons and existing atomic programs. North Korea abandoned six-party negotiations in April 2009. One month later, it conducted its second nuclear test. It has occasionally stated its desire to resume the talks, which involve China, Japan, the United States, the two Koreas and Russia, but only "without … [Read more...] about Kim Jong-il tells China he is ready for denuclearization talks

Kim boasted on Wednesday that his regime had been bolstered by the elimination of a divisive element, after the purge that saw his once-powerful uncle executed. In his first words of personal public criticism for Jang Song Thaek, Kim said the move had strengthened the ruling Worker's Party "by 100 times." "Our party took resolute action to remove... scum elements within the party last year," Kim said. The young leader accused Jang - who was widely held to be the country's second most powerful individual - of trying to build his own powerbase within the ruling party. "Our party's timely, accurate decision to purge the anti-party, anti-revolutionary elements helped greatly cement solidarity within our party," he said. Jang, who had served as Kim's political mentor, was put to death - reportedly by machine gun fire - on December 12 after a speedy corruption and treason trial. The purge was the biggest political upheaval since Kim took power after the death of his father Kim Jong-Il, … [Read more...] about North Korea’s Kim Jong Un hails purge of uncle

North Koreans gathered in the capital, Pyongyang, to mark the 70th birthday of the country's late leader, Kim Jong Il on Thursday. Two months after his death, North Korean mourners laid red begonia flowers at a portrait of the former leader in the Grand People's Study House at Pyongyang's main square. State television broadcast archive footage of Kim Jong Il visiting villages, farms and factories, along with tributes to the former leader. "The General (Kim) took time out of his busy schedule and visited my daughter's home, listening to this old farmer's concerns," an elderly woman said. "There are no other leaders in the world like the General." Observers say the personality cult surrounding the former leader has grown in the weeks following his death, in an effort to lend legitimacy to the country's dynastic succession, which has been in place since the Stalinist nation was founded under the leadership of Kim's father, Kim Il Sung in 1948. On Tuesday, a bronze statue was unveiled … [Read more...] about North Korea marks Kim Jong Il’s 70th birthday

Sometimes, Lee Young Guk was mere meters away from Kim Jong Il. From the late 1970s till the late 1980s, Lee was a bodyguard for the then-future leader of North Korea and spent a decade in close proximity to the country's most powerful people. Today, Lee lives in the South Korean capital, Seoul, and travels the world to tell his story. On Tuesday, he was in Geneva at the Human Rights Summit. The 54-year-old has a clear mission: to draw attention to the grave human rights violations in North Korea and get current leader Kim Jong Un in front of the International Criminal Court. He wants a conviction for the son of the man he used to protect with his life. The dissident looked down when he spoke and never at the reporter who was interviewing him. He gestured a lot; his hands were always moving. DW could not independently verify Lee's statements. Chats with Kim Lee was a high school student when he got the prestigious summons to become Kim Jong Il's bodyguard. Back then, all schools … [Read more...] about Kim Jong Il’s bodyguard: 11 years serving North Korea